Husbandry stress during early life stages affects the stress response and health status of juvenile sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax

Abstract

In aquaculture management it is important to establish objective criteria to assess health and welfare of the fish. Here we show that European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) confronted with husbandry-associated stress (tank cleaning, i.e. scrubbing, and water temperature variation) during early life stages show poorer survival and disease resistance as juveniles. We evaluated several parameters for stress (plasma cortisol, glucose and lactate, hydromineral status), growth performance, the immune response (plasma IgM levels) and the effects of a nodavirus challenge. Principal component analysis allowed the establishment of a stress panel including plasma cortisol, osmolality, IgM levels and weight. Sea bass juveniles reared during early life in high and constant temperature perform best in terms of stress-related parameters assessed by principle component analysis. Variable water temperature triggers dramatic changes in plasma cortisol, osmolality, IgM levels, body weight and susceptibility to nodavirus that suggest a strong and prolonged activation of the HPI axis. Scrubbing induces some disturbances typical for mild short-term, acute stress, viz. increased plasma osmolality and decreased IgM levels, but does not affect plasma cortisol, growth or susceptibility to nodavirus of sea bass. Our data fit well with the concept of allostasis. We discuss the relevance of our work for sea bass aquaculture.

Exposure of gnotobiotic Artemia franciscana larvae to abiotic stress promotes heat shock protein 70 synthesis and enhances resistance to pathogenic Vibrio campbellii

“…Refer to Fig. 1 temperature stress increases the susceptibility of sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, to nodavirus (Varsamos et al 2006). Additionally, thermal stress reduces resistance of the tiger shrimp P. monodon to P. damselae subsp.…”

Thermal imprinting modifies bone homeostasis in cold challenged sea bream (Sparus aurata, L.)

“…Thermal imprinting in early stages has a persistent effect on gene expression in subsequent stages (Garcia de la Serrana et al, 2012; Johnston et al, 2009;Jonsson and Jonsson, 2014;Scott and Johnston, 2012), and gene methylation and non-coding RNA have been suggested to contribute to the effect of temperature on developmental plasticity (Bizuayehu et al, 2015;Campos et al, 2014). Evidence has been gathered revealing that the thermal regime during early development can influence the juvenile stress response (Auperin and Geslin, 2008;Varsamos et al, 2006), muscle growth (AlamiDurante et al, 2007;Galloway et al, 1999;Garcia de la Serrana et al, 2012;Johnston et al, 2009;Macqueen et al, 2008;Steinbacher et al, 2011), and the incidence and character of skeletal deformities (Boglione and Costa, 2011). However, little is known about how embryonic or larval temperature regimes affect the ability of fish to cope with temperature changes in adult life.…”

The effect of allostatic load on hypothalamic–pituitary–interrenal (HPI) axis before and after secondary vaccination in Atlantic salmon postsmolts (Salmo salar L.)

“…Stress is defined as a condition in which the "dynamic equilibrium" of an organism, called homeostasis, is threatened or disturbed as a result of the actions of internal or external stimuli, commonly defined as stressors (Selye 1950(Selye , 1973Wendelaar Bonga 2011;Wendelaar Bonga 1997;Varsamos et al 2006). The physiological response to stressors has received great attention over the last decades and a great amount of data has attempted to complete, or even replace Selye's ''non-specific'' stress concept.…”

“…The physiological response to stressors has received great attention over the last decades and a great amount of data has attempted to complete, or even replace Selye's ''non-specific'' stress concept. This stress concept is also known as the ''General Adaptation Syndrome'', which describes an alarm, resistance and exhaustion stage (Varsamos et al 2006). …”